The constraining labour law in liberalization

Confronted to a rate of unemployment of more than 18 %, the Poland had to liberalize its labour market. The new provisions of the labor fair standards act from 2002 soften the current regulation and support a greater flexibility. Among the other provisions appear the laws aiming at improving conformity of the Polish right with the European Directives. Poland introduced into the new fair labor standards act the prohibition of a sexual discrimination in the contracts of employment, the collective agreements or all other working relationships.

The social dialogue

Since 1991, the social dialogue joins together State, the groupings of owners and the trade unions of employees. Trade unions had taken the practice to forward their claims directly to the government, but like it provided the law of 2001, the two sides of industry are from now implied at the regional level (voïvodies).

In theory, the questions of the field of work such as the level of the wages are settled by the law or the tripartite social dialogue, but in the facts, the collective bargaining is limited. The large majority of the collective agreements are carried out on the level of a firm. The trade unions lost there their importance with the profit of the works councils and the representatives to the board of trustees, which are however not very effective. The majority of the employees have not in their firm neither trade union, nor works council.

The number of strikes strongly decreased these last years in Poland, to limit itself to ten a year approximately. These last become however more violent and can give place to confrontations with the police force.

Decreasing importance of the Polish trade unions > >